Academic Information
When a student decides he/she may be interested in majoring in social work, changing a major is as simple as filling out a form at Admissions & Records. However, to register for the core social work courses and complete the program for graduation, a social work major must formally apply to the BSW Program and be officially admitted. To be advised about these procedures and the requirements, contact the Social Work Office in Larson Hall 209E and ask for an advisement appointment. The following information will help the student determine at what level he/she will be admitted.
Beginning the Program
Each student in the social work program is responsible for becoming familiar with the campus policies and regulations outlined in the UALR Undergraduate Catalog and for complying with them. Each student is expected to familiarize himself or herself with attendance policies, grading guidelines, and expectations for each course. Absences from class will result in failure to be informed about grade or assignment adjustments, schedule changes, educational content, or other pertinent information. It is the student's responsibility to learn of any information that has been disseminated during class time.
Syllabi are distributed for each course at the beginning of the semester. The course syllabus will contain educational objectives, departmental policies, grading guidelines, assignments, and schedules. However, minor adjustments may be made during the semester to accommodate unexpected circumstances, such as inclement weather, illness, or power outages.
Life Experience:
The BSW Program does not give academic credit in the field internship or in any of the courses in the required social work professional core for life experience or for previous work experience.
Ongoing Advising:
After declaration of the major, students are assigned a social work faculty member as an advisor. Social work majors are required to meet with their advisors at least one time each semester for the purpose of academic and professional planning. Appropriate planning of social work courses is especially important because social work courses are sequenced and most courses require the completion of prior course work to prepare one to proceed to the next required steps. It is critical that students understand that academic planning is a shared activity--one that demands the active participation of both advisor and student.
Levels of Entry into the BSW Program
New Student
This level of entry is typical of students who are beginning their freshman year at UALR. Typically, these students will not have class credit from other colleges or universities.
Tasks:
After admission to UALR, students can declare social work as their major as early as their freshman year. This is not a guarantee of formal admission into the BSW Program (which typically occurs at the end of the student's sophomore year). However, such a declaration of major allows us to meet with students early in their academic career and advise them on which classes are required of the major to help them establish an overall academic plan.
Newly Declared Majors
This level of entry is typical of students who have been enrolled in classes at UALR and have either not yet declared a major, or have decided to change their major to social work.
Tasks:
If the student has not yet completed the core curriculum requirements, these courses need to be completed. It is important to set up an advising appointment with one of the social work faculty in order to ensure that all prerequisite courses for the social work major are included in the academic plan.
If the student has completed the core curriculum requirements, including the classes required of social work majors, has an overall GPA of 2.0, has a cumulative GPA of 2.5 in Psychology and Human Experience (PSYC 2300), Introduction to Sociology (SOCI 2300), and Introduction to Social Work (SOWK 1301) -- or their equivalents -- and has completed 53 semester hours, she or he can formally apply to the program. This requires the submission of a personal statement and two letters of reference. Guidelines for both of these are discussed in the admission requirements section of this handbook. Depending on the student's previous major, and the point in her or his academic career at which she or he is changing majors, some or all of the upper level elective requirements for the social work degree may have already been met. This can be determined through an advising appointment.
Transfer Students
This level of entry is typical of students who have just transferred to UALR from a junior college or a four-year college or university. It is assumed that they have some transfer credits.
Tasks:
If the student has not yet completed the core curriculum requirements, and/or cannot transfer credits, then these courses need to be completed. It is important to set up an advising appointment with one of the Bachelor of Social Work faculty in order to identify courses that can be transferred and to ensure that all prerequisite courses for the social work major are included in the academic plan.
If the student's transfer credits allow her or him to be credited with completion of the core curriculum requirements, including the entrance classes required of social work majors, meets the gradepoint requirements shown in the Admission Requirements section of this handbook, including those for Psychology and Human Experience, (PSYC 2300), Introduction to Sociology, (SOCI 2300) -- or their equivalents -- and Introduction to Social Work (SOWK 1301), and has been credited with the completion of 53 semester hours, she or he can formally apply to the program. Formal application requires the submission of a personal statement and two letters of reference. Guidelines for both of these are included in this section of the handbook.
Students who want to transfer credit hours from another accredited social work program will be welcomed into the program without being required to complete the application process IF (a) hours earned are within the past five years, (b) the documented GPA requirements and pre-requisites are met, (c) the social work program from which the student is transferring is listed in CSWE's Handbook of Accredited Social Work Programs, and (d) a transcript is provided showing completed courses in the previous social work program and cumulative hours earned. Students are asked to complete an application for information purposes only and to submit necessary documentation.
Credit for equivalent core social work courses taken at another accredited program will be granted automatically for the following courses as long as course grade and GPA requirements are met: Introduction to Social Work, Human Behavior and the Social Environment I and II, Social Welfare Policy I and II, Methods of Social Work Research, and Social Statistics.
Credit for Practice I and Social Work & Diversity MAY BE GRANTED for previously completed courses in another accredited program if a review of the course description and/or syllabus for the completed course indicates that the learning objectives of Practice I and Social Work & Diversity substantially have been met. Except in extremely unusual cases, transfer credit for Practice II and III, Field Experience I and II, and Field Seminar I and II will not be given. Transfer credit for social work courses taken in a social work program that is not accredited by CSWE will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Returning Students
This level of entry is typical of students who have taken classes at UALR within the past ten years, and have decided to return to school to complete their undergraduate social work degree.
Tasks:
If the student has not yet completed the core curriculum requirements, these courses need to be completed. It is important to set up an advising appointment with one of the faculty in order to ensure that all prerequisite courses for the social work major are included in the academic plan.
If the student has completed the core curriculum requirements, including the entrance classes required of social work majors, has an overall GPA of 2.0, has a cumulative GPA of 2.5 in Psychology and Human Experience (PSYC 2300), and Introduction to Sociology (SOCI 2300) --or their equivalents -- and Introduction to Social Work (SOWK 1301), and has completed 53 semester hours, she or he can formally apply to the program. This requires the submission of a personal statement and two letters of reference. Guidelines for both of these are included in this section of the handbook.
Depending on the student's previous major, and the point in her or his academic career at which she or he is changing majors, some or all of the upper level elective requirements for the social work degree may have already been met. This can be determined through an advising appointment.
Students with an Undergraduate Degree in another Field of Study
This level of entry is typical of students who have already earned an undergraduate degree in another field, at either UALR or another accredited institution.
Tasks:
If the student has already received a degree from UALR, he or she is credited with having completed the general core curriculum requirements. This also is likely to be true if the student has received a degree from another accredited institution. However, certain prerequisite courses must be taken before the student can apply formally to the program. Also, the student may be required to meet additional graduation requirements that may not have been a part of the previous degree, such as six hours of foreign language, and specific prerequisite courses. An advising appointment can help determine what, if any, graduation requirements will apply to each student's individual program needs.
If the student has completed the core curriculum requirements, including the entrance classes required of social work majors, has an overall GPA of 2.0, has a cumulative GPA of 2.5 in Psychology and Human Experience (PSYC 2300) and Introduction to Sociology (SOCI 2300) -- or their equivalents -- and Introduction to Social Work, SOWK 1301, she or he can formally apply to the program. This requires the submission of a personal statement and two letters of reference. Guidelines for both of these are included in this section of the handbook.
Depending on the field in which the student has received her or his degree, some or all of the upper level elective requirements for the social work degree may have already been met. This can be determined through an advising appointment.
Curriculum Overview
Steps to the Profession of Social Work:
The social work professional core curriculum at UALR is organized around six defining themes and nine foundation areas. The six defining themes are:
- Critical analysis of theories, policy, and research.
- Understanding and appreciating human diversity
- Understanding and working for social and economic justice.
- Understanding and applying ecological systems theory.
- Understanding and applying the problem-solving model.
- Working to end oppression of and discrimination against populations-at-risk.
The nine foundation areas are: Human Behavior and the Social Environment, Social Welfare Policy and Services, Social Work Practice, Research, Field Education, Social Work Values and Ethics, Diversity, Social and Economic Justice, and Populations-at-Risk. These nine areas build upon a liberal arts base to provide social work knowledge, values, skills, as well as a supervised experience in generalist practice. These areas of study provide social work students with the necessary competencies to perform the entry level of generalist social work practice.
